Each year, hundreds of thousands of young children (birth to five years old) with developmental delays or disabilities require additional care and services to optimize their growth and development. The need for properly prepared individuals to help these children continues to grow. The early childhood special education (ECSE) graduate online certificate program at the FSU College of Education helps practicing professionals gain additional knowledge and training to better serve the needs of young children with developmental delays and disabilities within the context of their families and caregivers.
This online graduate certificate program in early childhood special education places a particular emphasis on educating individuals on how to meet the unique needs of young children within the context of their families. As such, this certificate program is particularly suited to help early childhood teachers, behavior therapists, speech language pathologists, childcare providers, special educators, and professionals in related disciplines better understand how to serve and work with young children with disabilities and/or developmental delays. Renowned special education faculty members at FSU designed the certificate’s curriculum to address the Council for Exceptional Children’s Early Initial Practice-Based Professional Preparation Standards for Early Interventionists/Early Childhood Special Educators. As such, students in the certificate program will gain expertise in identifying typical and atypical child development, partnering with families, assessing children, and more. Furthermore, students in the early childhood special education certificate program who are already certified teachers will be able to earn the Florida Department of Education’s Pre-Kindergarten Disability Endorsement.
For those interested in receiving additional education, the FSU College of Education also offers an online Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) degree. Individuals enrolled in the master’s program can earn the graduate certificate at the same time during the course of their studies.
The following are required for admission to the program:
An undergraduate degree from an accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution with a minimum of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in all coursework attempted while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student.
Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program must have a 3.0 GPA in their graduate coursework.
Admission to College of Education (COE) graduate certificate programs requires submission of the Certificate Admissions Form to the appropriate department Certificate Program Coordinator (Lindsay Dennis) and to the COE Office of Academic Services and Intern Support prior to the completion of two courses in the certificate program.
Non-Degree Seeking Students: To apply for the graduate certificate in Early Childhood Special Education, applicants not currently enrolled in a graduate program at FSU must submit: (1) a personal statement explaining their interest in attaining the certificate, (2) official transcripts, and (3) a resume to Lindsay Dennis. Applicants must meet deadlines for submitting a non-degree seeking application (available here), and pay the non-refundable application fee before formal admittance to the program.
Current FSU Students: To apply for the graduate certificate in Early Childhood Special Education, students currently enrolled in a graduate program at FSU will submit (1) a personal statement explaining their interest in attaining the certificate, and (2) an official transcript to Lindsay Dennis.
To receive the ECSE Graduate Certificate, students must (1) take the required 12-hour course sequence, (2) maintain a 3.0 grade point average in all required courses, and (3) complete the FSU COE Graduate Certificate Completion Form. Current College of Education policy requires that students complete all certificate courses with a grade of B or better within 7 years.
|
Term |
Course Number |
Course Title |
Graduate Credit Hours |
Field Experience Hours |
|
Fall |
EEX 5017 |
Typical and Atypical Early Development |
3 |
8 |
|
EEX 5708 |
Teaming with Families, Schools, and the Community |
3 |
- |
|
|
Spring |
EEX 5239 |
Assessment and Methods in Early Childhood Special Education |
3 |
25 |
|
Summer |
EEX 5456 |
Program Development for Young Children with Disabilities |
3 |
15 |
|
Total |
12 |
48 |
||
Information about tuition and fees can be found here. Please note that you may incur costs associated with the purchase of books/materials for courses.
The purpose of the Prekindergarten (PreK) Disabilities Endorsement Tuition Support Program is to provide financial assistance to exceptional student education, preschool, and early childhood teachers who are teaching children identified as having prekindergarten disabilities in a Florida public school. The program provides up to $1400 per course for tuition support through annual funding from the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B. Once accepted into the program at FSU, students will be advised to apply for tuition assistance. To apply, students will submit the completed Application, Verification of Employment form signed by your current school administrator, and the Service Obligation Agreement to the FL DOE Project Director. Upon notification of acceptance, students will coordinate with the ESE Student Support and the Registrar’s office to ensure tuition is paid per the University timelines.
Upon completion of the program, recipients must agree to teach children identified as having PreK disabilities in a Florida public school for a minimum of one year for every six hours of tuition support received and add the appropriate endorsement to their professional certificate.
Additional program information can be viewed at http://florida-ese.org/tuition-support.
